Method of packaging shirts



Dec; 24, 1940. R. MORSE METHOD OF PACKAGING SHIRTS Original Filed June 7. 1957 //Vl/.'/VTO/? LELAND R. MORSE Patented Dec. 24, 1940 Leland R. Morse, Chicago, Ill.

Original application June 7, 1937, Serial No.

146,797. Divided and this application 1940, Serial n 333,939

1 Claim. (01. 93-2).

This invention relates to improvements in the method of packaging or preparing V laundered shirts for delivery and 'more particularly to the method of folding laundered shirts about a shirt board and applying a shirt band to hold the shirt so tightly about the board as to bow the board to prevent wrinkling of the bosom of the shirt and to hold the shoulder portions of the shirt at the back of the board in overlapping relation.

This improved method was developed in applying a shirt band having a semi-circular cut-out portion to receive the neckband of the shirt to produce the laundry package disclosed in this applicants prior Patent No. 2,026,645 of January 7, 1936, during the development of the shirt assembly and finishing table constructed in accordance with this applicants co-pending application Serial No. 146,797 filed June 7, 1937, Patent No. 2,202,062 of May 28, 1940, of which this application is a division. g

With this and other objects in view, reference 'is made to the accompanying sheet of drawings, illustrating the steps in folding a shirt in accordance with this improved method.

In the drawing: 7

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan vie-w of an assembly table illustrating the first steps in the folding of a shirt thereon.

Figure 2 is a similar View illustrating another step in the folding of the shirt.

Figure 3 is a similar view illustrating another succeeding step in the folding of a shirt.

Figure 4 is a similar view illustrating the folded shirt about to be removed from the assembly table.

Figure 5 is a View in perspective illustrating a shirt folded in the manner shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive.

Figure 6 is a detail plan View of the shirt band or wrapper employed in performing this improved method.

While this improved method is of particular advantage in folding laundered shirts provided with attached collars, it is not essential to the carrying out of this invention that the collar be attached to the'shirt, as the method may be applied as well to shirts having a neckband for detachable collars. While. the assembly table shown in the drawing and upon which the performance of this method is illustrated is of the type described in the applicants co-pending application as having an opening in the top adjacent one end for receiving the collar and positioning the shirt and a releasable clip secured: at one end of a retractible cord, this improved method may be performed on any type of assembly :table which is of suificient size. to fold the shirt thereon. v

In folding a laundered shirt in accordance with this improved method, the shirt'is first placed upon the table I with the sleeves spread out lengthwise of the table with the collar on the'upper side. A'shirt band wrapper 2 having a semicircular central cut-out portion in its upper edge is placed over the shirt with the cut-out portion 3 passed under the points of. the collar to engage the-collar neckband and the sleeves folded parallel to the sides, as shown in Figure 1. The cutout portion 3 at the top of th shirt band allows the band to extend over the shirt bosom with the upper edge in proximity to the-upper fold over the shoulders. I

To perform the next step, the operator grasps the shoulder portion of the shirt together with the upper edge of the wrapper 2 and reverses the shirt and wrapper, as shown in Figure 2, so that.

the shirt may be laid on the table over the -wrapper 2 and the collar placed in the collar opening 4, if the table is provided with one. A commercial shirt board 5 is then placed centrally of the shirt with the short edge adjacent the out -er edgeof the collar band and the shirt sleeves posite end of the board 5 and the opopsite edges of the shirt band or Wrapper 2 are lapped over each other and the overlapped edges are secured together preferably by a gummed label or gummed strip of tape 1. The clip 6 holds the lapped over portions of the shirt to allow the shirt band 2 to be wrapped tightly about the shirt to maintain the shirt boar-d in its bowed position.

The clip 6 is then removed from engagement with the shoulders which may be accomplished, if the said applicants assembly board constructed in accordance with his said co-pending application is employed, by grasping the end of the finished shirt package opposite the collar and by a quick upward and outward movement, as shown in Figure 4, or by any other means and the com pleted package wrapped in accordance with the improved method, as shown in Figure 5, is ready for delivery.

The use of a shirt band or wrapper 2 with a cutout portion 3 allows the body of the wrapper to be advanced over the bosom of the shirt and passed under the collar to engage the collar neckband, allowing the body to extend on each side thereof to bring the upper edge of the band or wrapper close to the shoulder folds departing from the collar neckband, as shown in Figure l. The upper edge of the shirt band or wrapper in this position makes it possible for the operator to grasp both the body of the shirt and the body of the wrapper 2 at the same time, as shown in Figure 2, to lift them together and place them upon the table I with the wrapper between the table and the body of the shirt without disturbing the relation of one to the other.

It is customary to wrap laundered shirts about a rectangular piece of cardboard to preserve the shape of the package and prevent wrinkling of the shirt bosom. However, unless the wrapper is drawn tightly over the shirt on each side of the collar, there is nothing to prevent wrinkles forming in that part of the bosom. When the shoulder portions of the folded shirt are drawn over each other in overlapped relation sufficiently to cause the shirt board to bow outwardly to stretch the bosom of the shirt over the board, it is necessary to employ a pin or other permanent means of attachment to secure the shoulder portions together after the conventional type of wrapper has been applied. By temporarily securing the shoulder portions in overlapped relation, as contemplated by this invention, and then overlapping the ends of the wrapper, the other edge of which lies adjacent the upper edge of the overlapped shoulder portions, it is possible to draw the wrapper tightly over the entire bosom so that when the ends of the band or wrapper are secured together the temporary seeming means may be removed and the overlapped shoulder portions of theshirt will be held in place by the upper edge of the band or wrapper.

Therefore, it is seen that by employing a shirt band or'wrapper having a central semi-circular cut-out portion in its upper edge and a temporary securing means for the overlapped shoulders and folding the shirt in connection therewith in accordance with the steps of this improved method, a shirt package is quickly and easily produced in which the entire bosom of the shirt is stretched over the shirt board to prevent wrinkling and the overlapped shoulder portions at the back of the board are held in proper relation without additional securing means.

Prior to the development of this method, it was customary to fold the shirt about the board and then apply the band, and it was also necessary to employ a pin or pinless fastener to hold the overlapped shoulder portions together to maintain the board in its bowed relation. The applying of a band after a shirt has been folded consumes more time than is required by this improved method of packaging. This improved method of package application permits the shirt band to be applied during the normal shirt finishing and folding operations which represents a considerable saving in operator time. In a power laundry, it is advantageous to eliminate the number of operations and reduce the time consumed thereby, and this improved method ac complishes both of these desirable results.

What I claim is:

The method of producing a laundered shirt package having the shirt folded over a shirt board and covered with a shirt wrapper having a central semi-circular cut-out in its upper edge consisting in placing a shirt upon a finishing table with the collar or neck opening on the upper side, placing the shirt wrapper upon the bosom of the shirt with the cut-out portion surrounding the neck opening of the shirt and its upper edge adjacent the folded shoulder portions departing from the neck opening, grasping the body of the shirt and upper edge of the shirt wrapper, reversing the position of the shirt on the table with the wrapper between the table and shirt,

ping the ends of the wrapper about the shirt and-45 each other tightly, securing the overlapped ends of the wrapper, and removing the clip.

LELAND R. MORSE. 

